Fox’ Last Man Standing took an uncharacteristic detour into woke territory in Thursday’s episode when the hit Tim Allen comedy series pushed an anti-police message, with one of the show’s black characters getting arrested.
In the episode entitled “Lost and Found,” Outdoor Man security guard Chuck Larabee (Jonathan Adams) is arrested while looking at an old car in a woman’s driveway. Chuck was looking at the vehicle because series star Mike Baxter (Tim Allen) challenged Chuck to a contest for who can find the best classic car for their car restoring business. Chuck was looking to ask the owner of the vehicle if he could buy the car. However, instead of talking to the owner, a neighbor phoned the police calling Chuck a “suspicious” person lurking in the driveway. He was arrested and taken to the police station.
Watch below:
Baxter discovered that Chuck was arrested when he also arrived at the driveway to look at the same car. The car owner came out of her home and told Baxter that a black man was arrested in her driveway earlier in the day. The old woman even said the word “black” in that nearly whispered style that many older white people used back in the 1960s as a way to claim that blacks are trouble makers.
The scene then shifts to the Outdoor Man break room where Baxter, Joe (Jay Leno), and Ed Alzate (Hector Elizondo) are seen talking about Chuck’s arrest.
“We were looking at some old lady’s car in her driveway. I mean, why would they arrest Chuck for that and not us?” Joe says.
“Because he’s black,” Ed replies gravely, “it just never ends.”
Ed relates a story about a former employee named “Jamal” who said he was “uncomfortable handing out flyers in certain neighborhoods.” Ed notes that he told Jamal he was “just being paranoid,” but then Jamal got arrested — presumably when handing out flyers in a white community.
Chuck soon enters the room and explains what happened.
“I didn’t do anything,” Chuck tells his co-workers. “The cops got a report of a suspicious person in the area. I didn’t have my I.D., so… They put me in handcuffs, took me downtown to verify my identity, then they let me go.”
The banter continued (H/T MRC):
Joe: Well, that’s crazy. I mean, I leave my house all the time without an I.D.
Chuck: Really? Well, what a magical world you live in. Oh, please, Joe, tell me more.
Joe: I can’t believe this happened to you. I mean, you’re, you’re Chuck.
Mike: Could we give it a rest, guys?
Joe: I’m just trying to understand.
Chuck: Yeah, and I want you to understand, man. I just don’t want to have to be the one to help you process what I’m going through.
Joe: That’s never gonna happen.
Chuck: You’re mad because this happened to me, but this kind of thing happens every day to somebody else’s Chuck. I’m not the exception, I’m the rule.
Ed: I’m glad I listened this time, Mikey.
Mike: Me, too. And I’m really glad I don’t have to listen to your album.
Last Man Standing, which ordinarily leans center-right in its jokes and topics, is only the latest TV series to push the anti-police message.
As the 2021 season began, a long list of TV dramas and sitcoms pushed anti-police messages.
Series including This is Us, Law & Order: SVU, Chicago PD, SWAT, The Good Doctor, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and The Rookie all kicked off their seasons with woke plots featuring police racism and violence.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
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